According to a report on Variety, citing the usual collection of anonymous sources, Apple is considering a move into producing its own TV and movies. This rumour is as new as the rumours about Apple producing a TV, or a touchscreen iMac, or (insert consumer tech product here). But could this year be THE YEAR? This is the internet, so let’s speculate wildly.
There’s a bunch of reasons Apple producing its own content isn’t necessarily a dumb idea: the company is swimming in hundreds of billions in cash, which it will eventually have to use, or pay in dividends to shareholders; Apple is already familiar with the media world, thanks to iTunes; and making original content is fashionable these days, if not profitable (see: Amazon Instant Video).
Beyond that, it’s difficult to see why this year would be the year that Apple dips its toes in. Variety claims that the groundwork is being laid, with executives potentially to be hired in the coming months to create some kind of rival to Netflix — although, as the article itself says, details at the moment are ‘sketchy’.
There’s also a big difference between Apple maybe thinking about producing a product, and that thing actually being available to consumers. There’s certainly somethingcar-related going on in Cupertino, but whether that ends up with Beyoncé driving an iCar is a different question; equally, I’d bet money that there’s a Cupertino dumpster filled with Apple TV prototypes.
In other words: don’t expect some flashy new Apple Movies subscription for Christmas. But I wouldn’t buy a five-year Netflix gift card for anyone, either.
[Variety]